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Rusty wasn’t sure where he was going with this either.

He hadn’t ever dated someone he really liked.

Tyler had been about sex and fun, not really liking him as a person.

He wanted to date Cross, not just fuck him, or be fucked by him.

But he knew he was this young, stupid, inexperienced, broke rookie, and Cross was Cross.

And then there was Tyler, and his own recklessness about bringing someone like that into their lives.

Except all of that didn’t make his dick any less optimistically hard.

Kiss me? Rusty couldn’t make the words come out of his mouth.

He sucked in a breath and dryness made him cough. Maybe time to take a step back. “Hey, I need some hydration and calories. Let me get you that water and some snacks.”

Cross unhunched his shoulders, seeming relieved. “Thanks.”

“Coming up.”

Sadly, living in a studio apartment meant there was no real kitchen for him to step into and catch his breath.

Still, he could turn his back on Cross and reach into the refrigerator, the drift of chill air soothing on his face.

He got out two waters and a Tupperwear of homemade hummus.

Straightened. Made sure his face wasn’t doing anything weird.

Turned. “Hey, can you put this on the coffee table? I’m gonna get some crackers. ”

“Sure.” Cross took the bowl from him. “Did you make this?”

“Yeah. It’s super easy and a cheap protein for after-game snacking.

Canned chickpeas are, like, a tenth the cost of buying the hummus itself.

” Will had given him a blender at the end of his summer on the ranch, as a “good luck in Oregon” gift.

Rusty had thought that choice was a bit odd, but now the blender was maybe the favorite household thing he owned.

Hummus and smoothies with cheap whey protein and crap like that kept him from losing more muscle than necessary as the season wore on.

“I can cook a few things.” Cross carried the hummus and his water over to the couch and sat at one end, setting the bowl on the table. “Just basic stuff, though, like chicken breasts or burgers. I have a housekeeper who comes in and she cooks seven meals a week for me to meet my nutrition plan.”

Because of course the dude had a housekeeper.

He’d probably never cleaned his own toilet in his entire life.

Rusty shook his head, then carried a box of crackers and his water out to the couch.

He wondered if he should’ve put the food on a plate, but fuck it, they were hockey players. They could pass the box back and forth.

A bunch of hummus crackers and most of the water later, Rusty felt more mellow. Probably some of his up and down mood had been hangry-related after the hard-fought game, although Tyler hadn’t helped.

Cross had eaten some hummus too and acted like he enjoyed the flavor. Rusty’s couch was nothing like Cross’s cushy one but it wasn’t bad. The dip in the middle cushions tilted them toward each other and Rusty didn’t hate that.

We really should talk. But Cross was looking calm and relaxed, smiling a little, leaning Rusty’s way. He wanted to enjoy that for a few more minutes.

“How about a movie?” He reached for the remote.

“My TV lowkey sucks.” The screen was small and the clunky box was so old he sometimes wondered if it’d once had those rabbit-ear antennae like in the sixties.

But Mrs. Murinko let him use her cable, and the thing worked.

He flipped through the channels and hit a familiar sight.

“Oh, this one. Robot Man. This movie’s so bad it’s hysterical.

” He turned up the sound as Ro-Man lurched into view.

“We’re about ten minutes in but you haven’t missed anything. I promise.”

Cross made an inarticulate sound, and Rusty paused. “Unless you don’t want to? I could look for a game or something.” Mrs. Murinko’s package didn’t include any premium sports channels but sometimes he got lucky.

“No, that’s fine. That looks… interesting.”

Rusty laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far.” He leaned closer to Cross, not quite touching. “So there’s that robot, the gorilla thing with the TV-head. It’s just finished exterminating almost everyone on the planet.”

“Why?”

“For shits and giggles? I don’t know. Its big boss in the sky told it to. Anyhow, there’s just a few people left, and one of them is a pretty girl, right?”

“Can I guess where this is going?”

“Probably. But the fun part is riffing on it.” Rusty made the robot sounds Kris usually did. “ Beep, whee, beep, whee , wheeeere are the hoooomans?” Cross snorted so that was a win.

Rusty wasn’t sure if Cross was really into the movie or playing along.

He didn’t contribute a lot of commentary or sound effects of his own, but he chuckled at some of Rusty’s and made mind-boggled huffs at some of the best worst lines.

Cross didn’t take the cue to join Rusty’s shout of, “Look out! Aww, too late!” when Ro-Man threw Roy off the cliff.

For a second, Rusty missed Kris enough to hurt.

He grabbed his phone and texted her, ~Watching Ro-Man. Doing worse sound effects than yours.

He realized it might be past bedtime for her, but she responded, ~By yourself? Pathos.

~With a friend.

~Who? Date?

~Nah. Another hockey player.

~Team bonding?

~Not exactly.

~Cross???

Rusty blinked and hedged, ~What makes you say that?

~Hockey player not teammate? Guy you talk about a lot and have a huge crush on?

~I don’t.

~You do. Now quit texting me and pay attention to your man.

Rusty almost texted back, “I wish,” but that was too much encouragement to give Kris. He put the phone away and found Cross watching him rather than the screen.

“Who was that?”

“Oh, Kris. We’ve watched this movie together. She’s the one who invented all the robot noises.” He repeated “ Whee, beep,” and then his face heated. Way to be a dork.

Cross chewed on his lower lip. “Did you ever date her?”

“Kris? Hell, no.” Rusty tapped his chest. “Gay, remember, not bi? Plus, it’d be like dating my sister.” He seized the chance to get more info, though. “You’ve gone out with women, right?”

“Some, yeah. A few.”

“And guys?”

“A few.”

Rusty bet Cross was being modest. With his money and looks and star power, he could date anyone he wanted to. Although he was reserved, maybe even a little shy, unlike most hockey players Rusty knew, so maybe not the other sort of player .

Or maybe Cross didn’t want Rusty to feel inexperienced and was understating his past?

Rusty could reassure him on that, at least. “I’ve been with maybe twenty guys since I left home.

Mostly hands or mouths, you know? When I first came here I was like, whoa, this is a whole buffet compared to my small town where the only hot gay men were in an exclusive threesome.

But the apps and parties got real old, real quick.

” Was that TMI? Too late now. “And I didn’t have good luck dating.

As you know.” He winced because he didn’t want Tyler in this conversation. Not yet.

“I guess Tyler would put a person off trying to date.”

“Off strangers, yeah,” Rusty was babbling, but he didn’t want Cross getting the wrong idea. “Not off dating a friend, like you.” Fuck, here goes nothing. He covered his face with his hands.

“I prefer dating a friend too.”

Rusty looked up.

Cross’s autumn-smoke eyes were fixed on his, and he leaned toward Rusty, not away. “Someone I’ve already gotten to know. I’m kind of weird that way.”

“Doesn’t sound weird.”

“I like to go real slow.”

“I can do slow.” Rusty’s breath went short but he tried to play it cool. “Whatever you want. If you want.”

Cross was chewing his lip again. That shouldn’t have been hot, but his uncertainty made Rusty feel weirdly protective. Cross said, “I do but…”

Rusty waited out the long pause that followed, braced for you’re too young for me or I’m really looking for a woman or I want someone more on my own level.

Instead, Cross said, “It’s been a long time. I guess I lost some confidence.”

“You sure looked confident standing up to Tyler. Twice.”

“Confident I can punch his ugly face in, sure. That’s not the same as dating you.”

“I should hope not. I’m not into brawls unless I’m on the ice.” Rusty smiled to show he was joking around.

Cross nodded soberly. “The last person I dated was a woman. Three years ago.”

“Okay.” Rusty took a moment to wonder if dated also meant last person I slept with but surely not. Three years would be dying-of-blue-balls territory.

“She was lovely, super kind, and sweet. But, um.”

After another pause that was killing Rusty, he prompted, “Um?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t fit together right.”

Rusty’s ridiculous brain presented him with the image of a huge dick and a small woman, not fitting.

He thought he’d restrained his snicker, but Cross flushed and whacked Rusty’s knee. “Not like that. We didn’t have all that much in common.”

Was the sex at least good? Rusty wasn’t about to ask. “You and me seem to get along okay.”

“Yeah. I mean, my sister told me I should date a hockey player.”

“For the thighs and ass?”

“Hah. She has no idea. She’s not a sports fan. She meant because it’s all I talk about.”

“It’s not.” Rusty gestured at the screen. “We’re watching a movie with zero hockey involved. We talk about stupid pet videos and cars and other stuff. You went riding with Scott and Will a bunch last summer.”

“I guess. My girlfriend told me I was too intense.”

“You’re being paid a gazillion dollars to play a major league sport. Intense goes with that.” Rusty dared to lay a hand on Cross’s thick thigh. Talking about hockey player assets. “Anyway, your focus is a win for me. I’m playing a ton better since you started working with me.”

Cross looked down at Rusty’s hand on his jeans, then ran his fingers up Rusty’s arm to his shoulder.

Yes, come on. Kiss me. Rusty had made the move last time, so he was going to wait till Cross did this time.

Not patiently. He parted his lips, licked them, eased his arm along the back of the couch.

He felt like the horny boyfriend in some old movie, faking his move on the girl.

Although no one would mistake Cross for a girl.

Cross slid his touch up Rusty’s neck to the corner of his jaw. “Can I?”

Rusty wasn’t sure what he wanted but whatever it was, “Yes. Yeah. Go for it.”

Leaning closer, Cross threaded his fingers into Rusty’s hair and guided him down into a kiss.

Oh, yeah. Rusty went willingly, tilting his head to fit their mouths together. The soft touch of their lips quickly turned urgent. Rusty held as still as he could and focused on kissing Cross. The rest could come later.